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Top Women-oriented movies: 100 years of Indian Cinema

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Lajja is a powerful movie that talks of the evils of Indian society aimed at women. Manisha Koirala wants to run away from her husband (Jackie Shroff) but when she learns she is pregnant, her husband tries to snatch the child from her. As she escapes America and comes to India, she encounters Mythili (Mahima Chaudhury) a bride-to-be, Janaki (Madhuri Dixit) a theatre artist and Ramdulari (Rekha) a village midwife. All these women are the targets of male oppression and chauvinism. Lajja deals with a myriad of women's' issues to triumph as a power packed performance oriented film. Never mind the box office result.

The first installment in Deepa Mehta’s Elements trilogy, Fire was a mainstream film that boldly explored homosexual relations, that too between two women. The film drew ire from several political groups but this did not deter film maker Deepa Mehta. Radha (Shabana Azmi) and Sita (Nandita Das) are two housewives married to two brothers. The two women are confined by the traditions of society and are unloved by their respective husbands. Driven to frustration, Radha and Sita bond together and discover their love for one another. This does not go too well with their husbands but eventually in the end, Radha and Sita move out and are together.

Vidya Balan is one actress who does films on her own terms. Kahaani is one such example. Tracing the story of a woman (Vidya aka Bidda Bagchi), who comes to India in search of her missing husband, Kahaani is powerful and intriguing, highlighting the power of what a single woman can do. This includes the murder of a terrorist who killed her husband while fooling all the investigation officers.

It is a story of a journalist Madhavi Sharma played by Konkona Sen Sharma. Page 3 is all about her journey in the glitzy and glamorous world of celebrity lifestyle. Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, Page 3 won three National Film Awards in 2005.

Lajja is a powerful movie that talks of the evils of Indian society aimed at women. Manisha Koirala wants to run away from her husband (Jackie Shroff) but when she learns she is pregnant, her husband tries to snatch the child from her. As she escapes America and comes to India, she encounters Mythili (Mahima Chaudhury) a bride-to-be, Janaki (Madhuri Dixit) a theatre artist and Ramdulari (Rekha) a village midwife. All these women are the targets of male oppression and chauvinism. Lajja deals with a myriad of women’s’ issues to triumph as a power packed performance oriented film. Never mind the box office result.

Considered as one of the finest classics of Indian cinema, Mother India was a path breaking film of its time and also one of Nargis Dutt’s path breaking performances. Nargis as Radha is a poor villager who fights all odds to raise her two sons. She is the epitome of justice and a mother god like figure in her village. In the end, staying true to her cause, she kills her evil son so justice can prevail.

The film is inspired by a true story of a Punjabi woman named Kiranjit Ahluwalia who leaves India to marry a London-based guy, only to be badly abused. Aishwarya Rai played the main protagonist who ends up in prison for murdering her abusive husband.

The last in Deepa Mehta’s Elements trilogy, Water deals with the plight of Indian widows in the 1940’s. The film is a powerful tale of how women widowed at a young age are exiled in a Hindu ashram to expiate their sins and pay for their karma. They are also forced and fooled into prostitution. With an exceptionally talented and diverse star cast, Deepa Mehta’s Water is heart wrenching and dismal that puts Indian society to shame.

Zubeidaa explores the story of an ill fated actress who is forced into marriage to later get divorced. Left with a new born, this young mother (Karishma Kapoor as Zubeidaa) then falls in love with a married older Rajput king (Manoj Bajpayee) and eventually marries him. But in a tragic series of events, the two die in a plane crash. Set to be based on the real life story of Zubeidaa Begum, Karishma Kapoor in and as Zubeidaa has given one of the most powerful performances of her career, thereby earning a National Award for Best Actress (Critic’s Choice).